A Second chance
by orange'n'lavender
Summary: Sasuke returns to Konoha only to have his perspective of people completely changed. SasuSaku, NaruHina.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm back ! This is a short story based on Through her eyes, except it is in Sasuke's POV. It's kinda SasuNaru, but becomes SasuSaku later on...enjoy ! :D**

I waited in anticipation. In a little more time my work would be done and my life as avenger would cease to exist. My brother was dead. Akatsuki was no more, as each member was killed one by one, until the leader was killed by Naruto. Little more time until I would prove I was loyal to Konoha and Konoha alone. A little more time until I could see _him _again, my rival, my teammate, my best friend. _Naruto..._

My mind drifted briefly to happier times. Naruto and Sakura screaming at Kakashi, as he gave another excuse, Naruto and I supporting each other after completing the tree climbing exercise, the Chuunin exams...then the blur of dark and blood and sweat and snakes that was my time with Orochimaru. My mind snapped back to the present when I sensed the chakra of the Konoha shinobi as they began the attack. Time to get to work.

I knew that there was no way the Leaf ninja would be able to defeat Madara in a head on assault. I also knew that Naruto would lead them and there was no way I would risk his life. Hence my brilliant plan of betraying Madara at the last moment and attacking from the other direction. I unsheathed my sword as they clashed and the world dissolved into blood, reflex and chakra.

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I became aware of my surroundings slowly, noting the blood dripping of my sword. On looking, i saw the mangled corpse of Uchiha Madara; mangled because of the combined power of a chidori and a rasengan. I looked up sensing a presence, and saw myself looking at a pair of shocked eyes the colour of the sky. The same eyes that had shown sadness when I left, the same eyes which had shone with the determination to bring me back. I sighed in relief, feeling my exhaustion start to swallow me. "Naruto, I'm so sorry, for everything."

I woke up feeling at peace. I opened my eyes to see white walls and a flash of pink-wait, pink?

Opening my eyes fully, I instantly realized why this place was was the hospital at Konoha. And as for the pink flash...turning my head, I stared at the familiar pink haired medic as she did a bunch of tests on the other occupant of this room. A flash of blonde gave my his identity as well.

"Sakura?"

She turned quickly and looked at me. I met those familiar green eyes with a pang, remembering how she had loved me enough to offer to come with me. I looked away, avoiding the emotions in those eyes, and saw the blonde boy in the other bed. Worried,I looked back at her and asked,"Is he okay?"

Her eyes flicked to the other bed and softened, before looking back at me."Yes, he's fine. just tired. If you hadn't helped him.." she bit her lip and resumed speaking, "..that's one of the reasons you are here and not in some interrogation cell right now you know."

I cleared my throat,"Sakura, I.."

"Save it. I forgive you."

I blinked. "But why ?"

She laughed,"because you're my teammate. Besides, you didn't try to kill me, and Naruto forgave you."

I sighed in relief "Thank you"

It was her turn to blink."Did Uchiha Sasuke actually thank me? Oh the sky is going to fall today."

My witty comeback was interrupted by a small moan. Sakura immediately rushed to the other bed, where movement was visible. A blonde head emerged and azure eyes clouded with sleep blinked lazily, as Sakura checked his vital signs. I was just thinking how cute that looked when his blue eyes met my black eyes. The fog sleep cleared immediately and he stared at me, then looked at Sakura. She nodded happily, and he looked at me with a growing smile that took my breath away.

" Naruto"

"Sasuke?! Hey Sakura, look! I did it! I fulfilled my promise and brought him back! Are you okay?"

Realizing this last question was for me, I nodded. Naruto's smile grew and he gave a shout ( but a relatively soft one, I noticed) of triumph.

"See Sakura-chan? No permanent damage either! Did you talk to him?"

She nodded, still smiling, looking close to tears. "Can you believe it? He actually said thank you."

Naruto looked at me with wide eyes and said," Teme, if I had known that world domination was the way to get that pole out of your ass, I would have done that a long time ago."

Sakura frowned at that, hitting him on the head lightly. "Don't joke about things like that"

He looked at her. "Would you rather release the arrogant Sasuke we once knew into the world?"

She pretended to think,"Well, since its for the greater good, I'll help you."

My expression must have been priceless, for they took one look at it and began laughing.

I frowned and opened my mouth when an ANBU entered the room. "Haruna-san, Hokage-sama wishes you to bring the Uchiha to her room immediately. Uzumaki san can accompany you if he wishes"

I gulped( internally, of course. Uchiha never show their emotions). It was time to enter the lion's cave.

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**Sooo...what do you think? I'm planning to make it a story. It will be short, and kind of a summary of the future of the Rookie nine +3 + sand siblings. Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting with the Hokage

**Hey...sorry for not updating! I was banished from the world of technology... but here I am! And here is the second chapter! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... I'm not really sure why we have to say this either...**

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As I walked with Sakura to my doom… I mean, the Hokage's office, I could feel the euphoria at being reunited with my team,my _friends _fading as I contemplated my fate. I was technically a missing nin, after all, and it was foolish to hope that I would go unpunished. I hoped that the council was still slightly powerful- they would see only the Sharingan, a valuable asset to the village, thus reducing my sentence. I locked away my emotions for later; I would need to focus if I was to convince anyone that I was no threat to the village. My teammates seemed to sense this, or maybe it was the fact that I had reverted to my old habit of grunting, knowing that they would understand just fine without words, just like they did now. Forcing myself to concentrate on something,_ anything_ except the upcoming confrontation, I turned my thoughts to my teammates. Naruto walked slightly in front of Sakura and me, but kept stealing glances at me, like he couldn't believe I was real. I noticed that while he retained most of his enthusiasm and the brightness that drew people to him, he was quieter than before, with the same pain in his eyes that most people living in these times had. The pain of separation, that marked him as a veteran of the war which killed so many. He had also grown up a lot physically. He was hot… bad thoughts Sasuke, don't think like that. He is a teammate, a friend. Don't mess that relationship up. Regardless of my hormones, I was glad he was coming with me as I walked to… no, don't think of that. I focused on my other teammate. Sakura walked to Naruto's left, calm and serene, but bubbling with enthusiasm, and I suspect, joy at having got her team back again. She seemed to have outgrown her fangirl talents and developed into a beautiful and if I heard correctly, capable and deadly medical ninja. I wondered where the fourth member of my old team was, but figured he was either late or waiting at the Hokage's office. I was jolted out of my thoughts when our ANBU escort stopped in front of a door. Great. Time to reveal my fate. I looked at Sakura, who smiled and gestured for me to open the door. Bracing myself, I opened the door to reveal …..

….Kakashi trying to sneak out of the window, a familiar orange book in his hand. The two ancient looking people at the back had apparently not noticed, discussing something in murmurs. Naruto kindly decided to enlighten them, for he strode into the room, a mischievous light in his eyes and said, "Hey Kakashi, where are you going? Don't you wanna see Sasuke again? On our side no less?"

The old couple, realizing that Kakashi was trying to escape, frowned in sync. Kakashi gave a smile in their direction and a frown in Naruto's, before coming back into the room and saying, "Ah, Naruto, the day I finally dump this paperwork on you will be the happiest of my life." He sat in the Hokage's chair casually and looked at us. "Glad you finally came to your senses Sasuke. The council has convinced me that it would be best to not execute you, but to keep you on probation until you prove your worth. You will be classified as Chuunin until that time, after which you will gain Jounin level. During your probation, you will be placed under the guard of the ANBU, and will not do any missions above low C-grade until you complete your mental examination and have been deemed fit. Any questions?"

I had several, but kept silent. My silence either must not have convinced my teammates, or they knew me too well, for Naruto took one look at my face and said, "Well, spit it out!" I frowned and looked at Kakashi, wondering why he was sitting in the Hokage's chair. Naruto laughed and said, "Baa-chan retired. She decided that I was too obsess…..um, too unpredictable and wild at the moment, so Kakashi has the honour of being Hokage, at least until I'm ready."

I nodded, and then decided I would have to speak. "What are the terms of my probation?" I wanted to know if I could still walk freely around Konoha. "Well, like I said, you will be shadowed by ANBU at all times, but other than that you're free to go to most places that Chuunin are granted access to. You will also have to submit to an examination before you are considered fit for active duty. Any other questions can be directed to Sakura or Naruto. Which reminds me; Sakura, Tsunade-sama wishes to meet you-something about the duties of Head Medic. Naruto, the Hyuuga clan wishes to hear your opinion on the most painless way to remove the curse seal. Hiashi also wishes to tell you exactly what being on good terms with someone means."

I wasn't sure, but I could swear that Naruto blushed before nodding. Both him and Sakura gave me looks of support and told me that they would meet me at Ichiraku's after they finished their work. Then Sakura flickered out of the room, while Naruto disappeared in a flash of yellow light. Oh yeah. He was the son of the Yellow Flash of Konoha, after all. It made sense that he knew his father's techniques. I then realized that I was now alone with two old crones who looked about ready to drop dead (and knowing my luck, hey probably would. And I'd be blamed. Yup, my life sucked), and the Hokage, who happened to be my ex-sensei. Great. Just amazing. Note the sarcasm.

I reluctantly turned to them, arranging my features into a blank mask, which immediately slipped when Kakashi bluntly told the bags of death that they could go terrorize someone else, since he wanted to spend some time with his student. After some heated argument, they departed. Kakashi then stared at me. I stared back. After about two minutes of this, he broke the silence and asked , "You tried to kill Naruto. Twice. Yet you protected him when he needed it the most. For that, I can forgive you slightly. What I want to know is, why?"

"Why help at all? "He nodded. "Because I realized that while I could kill Itachi, I couldn't kill someone I considered my brother. Like you said, I almost killed him. He would have let me, too. And I'm an S-class ninja. If I wanted him dead, he would have been. I realised that true bonds were unbreakable. And because those who don't follow orders are trash, but those who betray their friends are even greater trash."

Kakashi blinked. "Sasuke that was the longest sentence I have ever heard you say." I scowled. Kakashi's eyes became moist. "I'm sorry Sasuke, but I can't forgive you for all the things you made us go through, especially Naruto and Sakura." He shook his head. "You know of Naruto's _tenant_, don't you? Did you also know that for a long time, many people considered him to be the demon himself?" I lost control of my mask and my shock was evident. How could people think that? Kakashi looked sad. "For most of his childhood he was abused, insulted and alone. People even tried to kill him, thinking they were killing a demon. When he came on our team, he was happy for a while, because he had a family. Then you left, after telling him that you, the person he considered his brother, wanted to kill him." I felt my shock and guilt grow. "When you left, the villagers had the bright idea of blaming that on him as well, claiming that you didn't want a demon as a teammate."

My mouth opened in protest. How could they say that? Naruto was brave and courageous; better than any of them, anyway. He inspired people to do their best, and was like a beam of sunlight. Why wouldn't I want him on my team?

Kakashi sighed, "He got his wish though. Everyone, even the villagers - respects him now. He is acknowledged by everyone as one of the most powerful ninjas of the Hidden Leaf. So all is well that ends well for him. Sakura too, was crushed when you left. She actually loved you, you know. The only reason she trained to be a medic was so she could be useful to you. You always considered her weak, didn't you? Have you ever realized that your and Naruto's power are of the charts? Anyone unlucky enough to be paired with you would look weak in comparison. But now, Sakura is considered the greatest Medic ninja ever, greater than even Tsunade. As for me, well, you are indirectly the reason I have to do this troublesome job, you know."

I looked blank. He elaborated. "Tsunade made me Hokage because Naruto said he wouldn't become Hokage until you came back or died."

I felt guilt rear its head again. "Kakashi…"

"It's fine. Now I suggest that you go to the Uchiha compound and get some rest. Then you can meet your old team afterwards. They usually meet there at around 6."

I thanked him and walked out. I was finally home. My face broke into a tiny smile at that thought

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**soo...? What do you think? Review pleeease*puppy dog eyes*...!**


	3. Chapter 3: Who's Dating Whom?

**I now present the third chapter of A Second Chance. Although not many people seem to care... oh well... Warning, this chapter is kinda one-sided SasuNaru... but it will change from the next chapter, probably... Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (He belongs to Hinata :) )**

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When I finally got out of the Hokage building, I sighed in relief. I formed a hand sign and shunshined over to the abandoned Uchiha compound, after which I wondered if I was allowed to do that or if that was breaking my parole. Then I gave a mental shrug. If my guards couldn't follow me, they didn't deserve to be called ANBU. Even _Naruto _could follow my shunshin….no, I mustn't think of Naruto. Too late. I let out a mental note as my thoughts drifted to my teammate, to his golden, silky locks and his clear, expressive blue eyes which had saved me from darkness. I wondered if he cared about me that way. I knew he was bisexual; most ninjas were. I knew I was (although I was often accused of being asexual…). I sighed and realized that I was hungry. Just for the heck of it, I went and opened the cupboard in the kitchen and gasped when I saw that it was stacked with food. Noticing a piece of paper, I took it and read it.

_Hey teme,_

_Me and Sakura figured that you would forget about food, so we bought some for you. At least until you get some money. Also, Sakura says to tell you that we meet at Ichiraku's every day at around 6 so you had better be there, dattebayo! _

_Hey Sasuke-kun, Sakura here. Get some sleep before you meet us ok? Also, there are some pills and stuff in this lot so make sure to take them._

_See you soon!_

I smiled. At least some people cared. I glanced at my clock; I had a few hours before I had to meet my team. My smile grew. Time to sleep. I ate some food and took the damn pills and then finally gave in to sleep.

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I woke to the sound of someone shouting. Groaning, I opened my eyes and froze. Naruto was sitting on me in a very…awkward position. He was shouting at Sakura, and I felt a small blush form at what he had just said.

"C'mon Sakura-chan! He looks like he isn't gonna wake up so if I kiss him he will right? Or do you want to kiss him instead." He chuckled and looked at me and grinned when he saw I was awake. I stared at him – he was topless, probably from training. Sakura confirmed it when she replied. "Naruto! Put some clothes on before you give the poor guy ideas. We all know you're hot. And I told you not to say stuff like that because, again, you'll give him ideas!" I took this time to admire his smooth, tanned skin which covered perfectly formed muscles. Noticing my gaze, his eyes sparkled with mischief and he suddenly bent and whispered near my ear, his warm breath making me shiver "Like what you see? Getting any ideas?" Schooling my features, I glared at him and said, "Get of me dobe." His grin got wider and he said, "You didn't deny it! Aww… teme likes me!"

Sakura had appeared in the room by this time, and she laughed "Shut up and get off him Naruto! You're already taken, you know." I froze at this piece of information. Naruto was taken? I felt his weight leave me as he got up and rubbed his head in embarrassment. "Ne, Sakura-chan. Don't tell her. Please?"

She sighed. "Fine. Now come on, you two! I'm hungry!" at which Naruto jumped around chanting "Ramen!" Sakura helped me up and looked at me, taking in my shell-shocked look. "Hey, Naruto! Don't you have a date to get to?" Naruto froze, obviously torn between his girlfriend and his team. I smirked. "Go, dobe. You did promise her before." He brightened and hugged me, thanking me. Then he suddenly vanished in a flash of yellow. I stared at the spot where he had been and felt Sakura sit next to me on my bed. She suddenly hugged me. I leaned into her hug, and cried. After a while of me crying and her comforting, a stopped and muttered a thanks. She looked at me and asked, "You like him, don't you?" I nodded and she continued, "You probably came back just for him. What are you going to do now?" I sighed and said, "I'm not going to leave, so don't worry. As for Naruto, I do like him, but I'll get over him, eventually." She nodded sympathetically and I asked, "Who is it? And while we're at it, could you tell me all the news?" she nodded again and said, "Well, Naruto is going out with Hinata; they've been going out ever since she confessed to him, um… Shikamaru and that sand girl Temari have been an item since forever, Ino spent like a month randomly going out with people, while bitching that nobody cared about her, and then realized that Chouji liked her and cared about her, so now they're dating- I think he's gonna propose. Hinata I already mentioned is going out with Naruto, and Kiba is going out with her little sister- are you ok?" at this point I had been drinking tea, and the thought that both the Hyuuga princesses had loud, boisterous boyfriends had caused me to choke and then spit on my tea. Gasping, I nodded, and asked, "Hiashi is fine with this?" Sakura grinned. "Well, the heiress of the Hyuuga clan is dating the next Hokage; and her younger sister is dating the heir of the Inuzuka clan, he doesn't actually have any reason to complain." I nodded before something struck me. "Naruto is the future Hokage?" she gave me a look and said, "Now that your back, I suppose it's only a matter of time before it happens" I felt the guilt creep up on me and asked, "I suppose Neji ended up with that bun-headed girl?" "Yup, Tenten. And Shino found love in Kiba's sister, Hana- you should stop doing that, you know." I had spat my tea out again. Quiet Shino was with _Kiba's_ sister? I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Sakura giggled and said, "We all had that reaction. Don't drink yet, don't you want to know who Lee ended up with?" I looked at Sakura in horror and said, "Sakura, if you dare say that you felt sorry for him and went out with him, I really will defect from Konoha." She smiled and shook her head. "I did go on a few dates with him, but we both agreed we were better of as friends. No, he is currently going out with Ayame, from Ichiraku's- Naruto introduced them. Oh and Kakashi-sensei is going to get married as soon as he gets out of being Hokage – I told you not to drink, didn't I ?" I choked again and said, "I thought you said that for Lee. Kakashi is getting married? To whom?" she sighed and said, "I was going to tell you, but you interrupted me. He is marrying Anko. You remember her right? Well, I think that's it. I gotta go; I have a shift at the hospital. Have fun, Sasuke-kun!" I stared at her abrupt ending and said, "But, you didn't tell me who you're dating! Or are you single?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm dating Genma. But it isn't anything serious, so I didn't say anything."

"Then… Date me." She looked surprised. "What?"

"Go out with me. I … I care about you… and I know you liked me once upon a time…" She shook her head and said, "You aren't over Naruto yet, so no. Maybe later, when you're not on a rebound, k? Now, I have to go- I'll see you later. I should probably warn you that Naruto will consider it his duty to come over for the night. Bye!" and she left before I could beg her to not leave me alone with my crush.

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**Yay! Third chapter is over! Now to figure out what to do to make it SasuSaku. Sorry if any characters are OOC...see you later!**


	4. Chapter 4 :Changed Perspective

**greetings, mortal beings. I'm back! i had writers block,followed by shit, and i nmay not upload for a while after this... oh well.**

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After Sakura left, I fell back on my bed and thought about my other teammate, my best friend, my crush. So he had eventually realised that the Hyuuga girl had liked him, huh? I wondered if I could have had him if I hadn't left. Then I dismissed that idea. I did not regret what I had done. Best not to think of what might have been, then. I groaned and turned on my side. That idiot would be here pretty soon, if I remembered correctly.

Sure enough, there was a rush of air when the window opened and Naruto stepped into my room. Grinning at me, he came and sat next to me, asking, "Hey, what did you and Sakura-chan talk about? Anything interesting?" I looked at him and then said, "Hn."

His grin just got wider. "So she told you all the latest gossip, huh?" I blushed slightly at that, feeling embarrassed that I had been caught and shocked that he figured that out from one grunt.

"No, I'm not psychic, and I may be good at understanding grunt language, but honestly I know Sakura-chan, she talks a lot so…" he trailed of, shrugging. I felt my lips twitch at that statement, and was unable to resist retorting, "Your one to talk, Dobe." He glared and shouted his usual response of "Don't call me that, teme!" effectively breaking the ice.

We spent a while talking about everything that had happened. I was surprised to realize that in my absence, Naruto had become _smarter._ Not by much, true, but it was possible to hold a sensible conversation with him. He was a sage now, and a fuuinjutsu master. That _had_ to have improved his brain cell count. He of course, knew everything about me, due to my status as missing nin, but it was fun to share stories of training (in his case) and psychotic fangirls (in my case, but he sympathised).

Before leaving, he decided that the next day he would reintroduce me to society; aka, the rest of the Konoha twelve plus my replacement in Team 7. Great. I'm jumping in joy. Note the sarcasm.

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Of course, it's hard to resist my teammates – Naruto, because he seems to have some kind of special ability to convert everyone to his way of thinking and make everyone follow him, and Sakura because she's _strong_. And since it was Naruto, we met at Ichiraku's for ramen, where we were treated to the sight of Rock Lee playing knight in shining armour to the girl serving us – Ayame.

It was weird to be surrounded by people laughing, chatting and almost everyone had a girlfriend/boyfriend. The few that were currently alone were with people who were either on missions or were not in the group. This meant Shikamaru, who everyone knew was with that Sand konoichi was sitting next to his teammates, who were holding hands and snuggling up to each other. Not that he seemed to care. Actually, I was pretty sure he was sleeping. Nudging Sakura, I pointed at him discreetly. She smiled and nodded. Yup, he was fast asleep. Lazy dude.

Kiba and Shino were alone as well, because their girlfriends were on a mission (Hanabi) and not actually in the group (Hana). My eyes felt like they were going to pop out when I saw _Hyuuga Neji_ kissing his teammate Tenten. Turning away quickly, I watched in morbid fascination as Naruto said something to Hinata which caused her to blush, and then said something else with a mischievous grin. The girl couldn't take the overload of blood to her head and fainted. Naruto caught her with practiced ease and held her up until she woke up. No one seemed to care, though Neji looked up from kissing Tenten to glare at Naruto.

"It happens a lot." Sakura said, smiling. That's why no one noticed. Konoha ninja were weird. Then again, I _was _a Konoha ninja…

It was actually like being transported back in time, I mused, watching Kiba and Naruto have an eating contest, and Ino and Sakura argue good-naturedly. Hinata was still a shy quiet girl, Shikamaru was still a lazy genius, Chouji still ate a lot, and Shino was still a creepy dude in weird stalkerish clothes…

And then I watched in complete surprise as a little kid with red eyes appeared and shook Shikamaru awake, shouting, "Shika-sensei! We have to go for missions! Come on!" Shikamaru rose and muttered something and then walked away, waving. I looked at Sakura, who was smiling. She turned and said, "That's Kurenai and Asuma's kid. When Asuma died, Shika swore to look after Kurenai and Sayuri. He even became a Jounin so that he would get her on his team." I nodded. So apparently Shikamaru had changed. I heard a voice firmly tell Naruto and Kiba to eat slowly or they would get a stomach ache. To my surprise, the voice which answered wasn't Naruto's but Kiba. "But I eat like this all the time! Why would anything happen to me now?" Naruto answered, "Idiot! She didn't mean from natural causes; she meant that if you ate like that in front of her, she would make sure you got a Stomach ache. Most probably by punching you." Wondering who the person who got away with threatening Kiba and Naruto was, I looked and almost had a heart attack when I saw Hinata nod at Kiba, whose face paled. Fine, so Hinata had changed as well. At least Shino was still the same- at that moment a beautiful girl who was recognisable as an Inuzuka by the marks on her cheeks walked up and I watched in shock as Shino left with her. That was probably Hana. Ok, so everyone had changed, becoming worthy Shinobi of the Leaf. I wasn't sure if I was the same Rookie of the Year I had been. Many looked like they could beat me easily – not that I would ever say that in front of anyone.

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I sighed when I reached home. Tomorrow, I was to be evaluated to see if I was fit to be a ninja of the Leaf again. Fun. I sighed and gave in to sleep. Tomorrow would be (quoting Shikamaru) troublesome.

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**And there is the next chapter. Review please.**


	5. Chapter 5: Love at hundreth Glance

_**Sorry I took so long to upload.. but I had exams (which is the reason for those plot bunnies for Acknowledgement and Pre-Academy Days). I also had no idea of how to get Sasuke to fall in love with Sakura. I'm still not sure, but I want to upload, so here it is. The next chapter. Enjoy!**_

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_Dear Diary,_

_My shrink ordered me (well, he said that he was asking, but I don't believe him. He looks sadistic) to 'pour my feelings' to him, and when I didn't told me to write in this stupid book. I'm not sure what purpose it serves, but I will persevere. No silly blue book will defeat me!_

_Ahem._

_So, my feelings… I'm annoyed, bored, guilty… the shrink (whose name I do not care to know) says I have to give reasons as well for the emotions. He is reading this over my shoulder as we speak. He is an idiot. An annoying, whining nincompoop whom I would like to dunk in a boiling vat of oil and then set him on fire, before… He just winced, gave me a look and an injured sniff, and flounced of. There. TAKE THAT, BITCH! (Now excuse me while I go back to emotionless.) _

_It has been a few months since I returned, and I get the feeling that I am in an alternate reality. The dead last, Naruto, will soon be Hokage, the shy Hinata is training to be clan head (mostly because Naruto dropped hints that if she was not made Head, the Hyuuga clan would suffer. And everyone knows Naruto still has his prankster spirit in him…), Sakura and Ino are Head Medic and second in command at the hospital, everyone has found their path, changed everyone else's perception of their future. Honestly, I feel left out… I wonder if I'm still the strongest like I once was (this will never be read by anyone). My probation is over, and I have been made Jounin. Unfortunately, I am still considered too untrustworthy to be made ANBU. This, however, means I have less time to socialize (not that I would have anyway), and when I do, it's usually something that the whole Konoha 12 are doing together. Due to the hormones flying, I find myself usually stuck with Sakura, as we are the only ones without a partner. It isn't as bad as I feared… she seems to have got over her crush and we are now quite close friends. _

_I just asked my shrink what would happen if I was writing secret ninja stuff in here and it was found by a spy. I then narrowed my eyes and asked him whether he was a spy. He did a very good impression of a fish, and looked rather constipated when I told him that. We have now reached an agreement: he pronounces me sane, and I never come near him again. Ha! I NEVER HAVE TO WRITE IN THIS BOOK AGAIN! Sayonara dairy!_

I threw the book out of the window and made good use of my fire techniques- to ensure that I never saw the stupid thing again, it never came back to haunt me, and certain friends wouldn't find and use it as blackmail- after which I followed it out of the window, leaving a trembling shrink. Sakura had told me to pick her up for lunch, and I did not want to be late. One of the few bad effects of Sakura not having a crush on me was that I was now very vulnerable to her punches. Ouch.

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I winced (inside. Outside, I was the same stoic bast…erm person I always was) at the look on Sakura's face. Then I winced as she pressed cream or something on my wounds with a little more force than was really necessary. Her face softened slightly at that, and she muttered, "You two are _idiots!_ Who goes _looking _for trouble during a _mission_?! We find enough and more of that anyway!" I glared at her and then winced as she cleaned my wounds. "It wasn't my fault, Sakura." At the look she gave me, I amended, "Not completely, anyway. I couldn't let the idiot go alone, now could I? And besides, it's not like we would have lost. I mean the idiot alone could them on…" Sakura interrupted me at this point. Apparently, she was still angry. Oops. "Yes, he alone could have taken them on, but what did you do? You decided to go with him, for Kami knows what reason, and _then_ you get in a fight with him, you _idiot_, and…and" she broke down crying. My eyes widened a little at that, and I looked around inconspicuously for our teammate. He was better at comforting people. Since he didn't magically appear in the room, I sighed and started trying to comfort Sakura. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. C'mon Sakura don't cry. How 'bout I promise to never do that again? " She giggled suddenly, and wiped her face, saying "Aww, did poor Sasuke-kun not like seeing me cry? Well, don't worry, I'm not gonna cry anymore, ok?" and then she smiled at me brightly and said, "Thanks for trying to comfort me though." And I felt a funny feeling in my stomach when she looked at me with that happy face. I grunted and tried to ignore the fact that I was blushing a little. She grinned widely and healed me, then shooed me away. And i remember thinking that she looked nice with a smile. Her smiling was good. i was going to make sure that she never cried again.

* * *

"What?"

Sakura shifted a little and looked a little guilty. "I'm sorry Sasuke-kun. I forgot to tell you earlier. I can't come for our normal team meeting, and neither can Naruto."

"But why not?" I was aware that I sounded a little whiny, but I couldn't help it. The small get-together things that team 7 did every week was the few things I liked doing. And since both Sakura and Naruto were too high up to get a lot of missions (and when they did, they could probably finish it within a week), we met almost every week. So you can figure out that I wasn't happy with this new plan.

"Because tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and Sai asked me out. Naruto is spending it with Hinata, so…yeah." She looked uncomfortable. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't mention this before, but…" I cut her off. "You're going out with Sai?" She nodded, her face lighting up. "Did you know he thinks my pink hair contrast really well with my eyes?" She grinned. "Well, I got to go get a gift for him and all that. Ja." She walked of and for some reason, it made me get a bad feeling in my stomach when she didn't turn around. Then she suddenly turned and smiled brightly, waving, and my heart suddenly decided to do some flips. I also got an image of chibi Sasuke with hearts in his eyes. But that wasn't me falling in love with Sakura. She was my friend, and I was just glad someone cared about me. Yeah, that was it. Really.

* * *

The next day, I realised that I didn't have anything to do, seeing that all my friends were busy. It _was_ Valentine's Day. Then I remembered that Sakura was going out with Sai (who I still thought of as my replacement) and decided to follow them. Just to make sure nothing happened too Sakura. Who was a poor, defenseless girl. Who would kill me if I ever said that aloud. Yeah.

So I did a very good impression of a stalker (and yes, I get the irony of _me _stalking _Sakura_). Not that I was actually stalking her. Nope. Sai took her to a place in the woods, with a waterfall and butterflies etc, etc. then he brought out a picnic, and apologized for not cooking himself; he had bought everything. Then he gave Sakura a picture or a drawing which I couldn't see, and she blushed and smiled at him. After the (stupid) picnic (which I was irritated to note Sakura seemed to like), they went to a bunch of places. After dinner he dropped her home. And that was when all hell broke loose (not literally though. I didn't do anything then. I meant that that was a turning point in my life). He hesitated, then bent down and kissed her. And she kissed back. And I felt the sudden urge to rip Sai away from her and castrate him, followed by an urge to kiss her so hard that she would forget all about him. For a brief instant I lost control of my emotions, but quickly regained control. They broke the kiss and she went into her house, while Sai walked away a bit and then said, "Well, Uchiha. Did you like the show?" I stepped out of the shadows and glared at him. He smiled that freaky smile of his and said, "You have to control yourself better. I could feel your killer intent flare when I kissed ugly…" Sai found himself slammed into a wall, and I snarled, "Don't call her that." He smiled and suddenly held out something. I looked at the thing; a book. 'Symptoms of love'. I looked at Sai, who said, "Read it, it may help you." Then he walked away.

* * *

I settled into my bed and opened the book – and then couldn't stop. The book described love as a feeling where you felt butterflies in your stomach when you were near the person you loved. You wanted to see them happy all the time. You didn't like them kissing someone…oh, so that was what that feeling had been. When Sai kissed Sakura. Jealousy. Reading further, I came to the realization that I had most of the symptoms in the book.

That was the time I accepted the fact that I had fallen for Sakura. Oh hell.

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_**And that is the next chapter. Now to get him to admit his love. Why the hell did I try to do this? Anyway, review if you liked, disliked, whatever.**_


	6. Chapter 6 : The Sai Syndrome

**Hi! I realised that I had to upload, so ... here is the next chapter of this story! Enjoy!**

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I glared at my reflection in the mirror. It glared back, but even I could see that it wasn't very scary. My already pale skin looked even paler, enhanced by the dark circles ringing my eyes. I briefly considered using concealer or makeup to hide it, but discarded the idea. Naruto and Kiba already teased me about my rather… feminine features. As was the rule nowadays, the thought of Naruto made an image of rose hair and emerald eyes appear in my head. Growling, I banished the image from my head. It was all _her _fault. She was the reason I spent so many nights awake, hoping that she still had some small romantic feelings towards me, and hating Sai for being the one who took her out, and kissed her, and… I usually stopped thinking at this point, as I was pretty sure I would otherwise hunt Sai don and kill him, while laughing maniacally (which would earn me a one way ticket to missing ninja-hood. While I wouldn't usually mind, I doubted she would come with me like she had offered the last time). I sighed. This was getting rather annoying.

Ever since I had realised that I had fallen for Sakura, I had been avoiding her. I was pretty sure that she realised this, due to the incident two days ago, when I had been shopping, and had literally bumped into her. I had not been prepared for the confrontation, and had thus made a tactical retreat (i.e. I ran like Orochimaru was chasing me, and locked myself in my house. After Sakura came and broke the door down, I ran into the Hokage's office and hid under the desk. She apparently hadn't realised where I was yet). But now she knew I was avoiding her. Damn. As Naruto had told me when I confessed (I had told him I liked Sakura in exchange for sanctuary), I was 'in shitloads of trouble when Sakura-chan found me'.

I concentrated, used my Sharingan, and, not seeing or feeling any chakra signatures, decided the coast was clear. Walking out of the Hokage Tower, I suddenly felt the world tilt upside down, and saw a network of threads appear in my field of vision. When I regained my sense of equilibrium, I winced. I was suspended inside a net. Like an idiot, I had been caught in a trap, and I knew just who had done it. I glared at Naruto, who rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, saying, "I'm sorry Sasuke, but she threatened to tell Hina-chan that I wrote an Icha-Icha book." I looked at the angry girl at his side and cursed before hissing "traitor" at Naruto. She cut me off by saying "don't blame him; I had to bribe him with ramen _and_ threaten him before he agreed. Now, why are you avoiding me?"

I glared at Naruto and then turned to Sakura, saying, "You'll never get it out of me alive!" Her eyes narrowed, and she said, "Oh? We'll see about that. Naruto, bring in the Weapon." Both Naruto's and my eyes widened at this, and Naruto asked, "Ne, Sakura-chan, is that really necessary? I'm sure he would be willing to tell us…" Sakura glared at him, and he stopped. I summoned my courage and said, "Perhaps we should have this discussion elsewhere? Somewhere that doesn't have civilians staring at us like idiots with nothing better to do?" the aforementioned civilians quickly began busying themselves. Naruto and Sakura glanced at each other and nodded, before Naruto grabbed me and we shunshined away to my house.

At home, I found myself staring at the sharp end of a kunai as Sakura said, "Well? I'm waiting." Gulping, my quick mind concocted a story. But first, to see how much she knew. "Why did you think I was avoiding you?" she glared at me and said, rather darkly, "Well, you _did _run away with a girly squeak when we, erm… met in the shop." We both ignored Naruto's snigger at the mention of me squeaking. I said, with as much dignity as I could muster, "I was not avoiding you. You see, when I saw you, I saw your pink hair, and when I saw your pink hair, I thought of colours, and when I thought of colours, I thought of how I didn't have any coloured shirts, except for my red formal shirt, and then I remembered that I had put that for wash with my other shirts and so I ran to save my shirts. And I do _not _squeak." Sakura gave me a disbelieving look, and then said, "Well, how come I haven't seen you around much for a while lately?" luckily, I had an excuse for that too. "I thought, since you were dating Sai, you would prefer not to be seen too much in the company of other men. This book says that women like spending time with their girlfriend…" I stopped at the shocked look they were giving me. Then Naruto walked up and poked me hard, before ruffling my hair. I swatted at his hand and backed away, glaring. Naruto broke the tense silence. "You-you… did you just say that you got something from a book?" he practically squeaked out. Sakura stared at me in shock. I raised an eyebrow at them before I suddenly remembered that Sai usually started his sentences with "this book says that…" my eyes widened, and the three of us looked at each other, before I said, "This is not to be mentioned again. And Sakura, maybe I need a check-up – just to see that this is not serious." Sakura, her eyes wide, nodded and said, "Agreed. Come by my office tomorrow? And maybe I should put Sai under quarantine, just in case?" Both Naruto and I nodded frantically. Then Sakura said, "Fine. I will believe that you aren't trying to avoid me, Sasuke-kun. But don't ever try something like that again. Ja!" She shunshin-ed away, leaving Naruto and I alone in my room. As soon as she went, Naruto turned to me and said, "Why the hell didn't you tell her? I mean, she's liked you for a long time, and now you like her too, so why don't you tell her?" I glared and said, "Sai." Naruto scoffed. "Since when did you care about other people, least of all Sai? I mean, before, you would have told Sakura and just expected Sai to get out of the way." I could see the pain he still felt at my betrayal in his eyes when he said this, and sighed, before I sat down next to him on the bed and said, "Naruto, I am trying to change. So I'm not going to act like I did then. Besides, I care about you and Sakura, and Sai is precious to you two. Which is the only reason he isn't lying in a ditch somewhere." Naruto smiled at that and said, "that, and Sakura would kill you if anything happened to Sai, and you're scared of her." I reluctantly grunted assent to this, and Naruto laughed. Then he said, "Thanks, Sasuke." I grunted again and he cheered up, remembering something. "Oh! I almost forgot! When me and Hina-chan get married, can you be best man? Please?" Looking at his happy face, I couldn't really refuse. He danced around in joy for a while and then left. I sat there for a while and suddenly realised that I didn't have a crush on Naruto. Letting a small smile escape onto my face (which was my equivalent of grinning widely), I sat down and got out a scroll and some ink. It was time to come up with a plan to seduce Sakura (and get rid of Sai).

I woke up to the sun shining bright and the birds chirping. Unfortunately, I had stayed up late, and I wasn't really in the mood for happy morning time, and a few birds sitting outside my open window (Most ninja keep their windows open, in case they were called in the middle of the night. If someone was stupid enough to sneak in, they would be caught in the very painful and sometimes brutal traps all ninja had. If they didn't get caught, they were probably a powerful ninja, and a closed window wouldn't have stopped them anyway) sadly passed on from this world thanks to a few well aimed kunai. I stumbled out of bed and drank the coffee place on my table for the express purpose of waking me up. Feeling better, I surveyed the room in glee. I had a plan. Operation: seduce Sakura would begin today.

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**And that was the next chapter. It was mostly kinda a filler, because I'm going to be cut off from the internet of about two months. Sorry...review please!**


	7. Chapter 7: Go out with me

**Hello! I'm back! And here is a new chapter of 'A second chance'. Enjoy!**

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I snarled at Naruto, trying desperately to escape from the trap he had set. He grinned like a fox and stood just beyond my reach, taunting me, laughing. There was a flash of lavender, and Hinata appeared next to him, her byakugan activated and scanning the woods around us. She whispered to him, and then jumped into the trees and away from us. Naruto formed the familiar cross-seal and then drove a kunai into the clone, ensuring that all the other clones of him got the information that Hinata had just given him. Then he followed Hinata.

Left alone, I tried to get the stupid collar off my neck. We were training in the Forest of Death, and Naruto had come up with the idea of playing a survival game rather like our first Chuunin exam. The Konoha 12 had split into two teams, one lead by Shikamaru and one by Naruto. Shika's team was him, Chouji, Neji, Tenten, Sakura and me. Naruto's team was him, Hinata, Kiba, Lee, Shino and Ino. So far, it seemed that Naruto's team was winning, but we_ did_ have Shika. But Naruto had grown smarter, more mature. He had turned his pranking abilities into an asset, making potentially lethal and/or embarrassing traps. Like the stupid collar around my neck. This was attached to the tree by a chain. I sighed and let my mind drift. The green of the leaves reminded me of her green eyes, sparkling emeralds. Her rose pink hair, her pale skin, soft voice and healing hands.

As if my thoughts had conjured her up, she appeared out of nowhere. She looked at me, then the bloody chain with a raised eyebrow, before giggling. I glared at her. She controlled her laughter and broke the chain with her bare hands, causing me to flinch slightly. Her mouth twitched as she started using a kunai on my collar.

"How exactly did this happen?" she asked, choking down her laughter.

"Naruto." That one name was explanation enough.

"What about your Sharingan?" I saw a flash of pride at the reminder that Naruto could beat_ me_ now.

"Sakura, Sharingan can only see chakra attacks, and copy techniques. He used traps. How is the Sharingan supposed to copy traps?" I huffed.

She laughed. "Maybe that's why he used them, Sasuke-kun. There, you're free." She stepped away, waving the collar. I glared at the collar, and then looked at her. Her hair was waving gently in the breeze, her cheeks were flushed with the thrill of the game, and her eyes were alight with laughter. Before my brain could catch up to my mouth, I said, "I love you."

Her eyes widened, as did mine, when my brain finally caught up to my mouth, and I realised what I had just said. I hurried to clarify. "Because you got that stupid collar off." I was blushing now, realising that I had technically told her the truth off my feelings.

"Yeah, no, I get that." She hastened to agree, blushing as well. We stood there for a while in awkward silence.

"Well, we should…"

"… get back to the game." She chuckled nervously when I finished her sentence. Then she waved. I stood there for a while, thinking about something I had seen during my awkward kinda-confession. When I had told her indirectly that I didn't love her like that, emotions had flashed in her eyes. For a second, she looked…disappointed. Upset that I didn't like her like that. No, I was probably deluding myself. She had made it clear that she had got over her crush on me. But I couldn't kill the small fire of hope that sprung up. Hope that she _did _have feelings for me after all.

* * *

I had decided that I had to do something to earn Sakura's love (well, actually Naruto had decided. His exact words were 'how am I supposed to get anything done if you're hanging around her mooning for Sakura-chan?' but it was just details.). Naruto had thought of the idea that I ask other people how _they _had got together. Hinata had stalked Naruto. Since I had already done something similar (Naruto says it's exactly the same thing. I disagree. I followed her for her own protection. It's _not_ stalking.), I decided not to do that. Shika had used his shadow technique to capture Temari and hold her until she agreed to date him. Ino did something similar with her mind technique. I _had_ wanted to follow Shika's footsteps, until Naruto reminded me that I didn't have any shadow techniques. Or mind techniques. So I reluctantly discarded those ideas. Tenten had pinned Neji to a wall with her kunai and told him that he would be her boyfriend. Or else. That was a good idea…

* * *

"Sakura. Be my girlfriend. Or else." She glared at me.

"Or else what?" she challenged. "And why the sudden urge to get a girlfriend?"

I thought for a while. "Everyone else has one. So it would be best if I had one too. And you're not bad looking, and you said you're not dating Sai, so…" I trailed of at the incredulous look on her face.

"So this is because you don't want to be the only guy without a girlfriend? And you're having some kind of inferiority complex?"

"I do NOT have an inferiority complex…"

"Then why the hell are you trying to upstage Sai, of all people?"

"Um…"

She pushed the kunai out with her chakra, glared at me and walked of. I slumped against the wall, and then went to find Naruto. If I was depressed, he would have to help.

* * *

"Do you have a map?"

"No. Why?" she looked suspicious. I smirked.

"Because I got lost in your eyes." She looked at me with a concerned look.

"Are you okay? Cause you have been acting really strangely." I brightened up. Time for another pick-up line. I was now following Kiba's tactic. Cheesy pick-up lines.

"I'm just crazy for you, baby." She looked at me and then whacked me on the head. "Ow! What was that for?" it was her turn to smirk.

"That should fix you if you're crazy." With that she walked away, turning to give a parting shot. "And if you can get lost so easily, you're a lousy shinobi."

I stared after her, and then took off in the direction of the Hokage tower. Naruto should hear of this.

* * *

Naruto rubbed his temple as if he had a headache when I appeared at the window. I reported that it hadn't worked. He sighed. "Sasuke, why don't you just tell her you like her?"

"Hn. Why would that work?" Naruto glared at me and then beckoned. I walked up to him, and he whacked me on the head. "Ow! What is _with _you and Sakura? You need to control your temper."

"Of course it works! It worked for Lee!" he said, ignoring my comment.

"Naruto, Lee isn't human. I'm not trying that." A thought came to me. "Hey Naruto. How did you finally get together with Hinata? I thought you two had some issues?" he smiled as he thought of it.

"I told the whole village that the only female that I would ever love was Hinata. We got together after that." My eyes widened. That was perfect. And it would get my fangirls away from me!

* * *

"Sa-su-ke…" I gulped as Sakura stomped towards me with an evil aura. "What the hell were you _thinking_ telling your fangirls that they didn't stand a chance with you while I was alive? I had to knock half the girls in the village out."

I screamed (it was a manly scream. More like a shout. Really.). Sakura was scary like this. I took off towards my second home. Naruto would help me. Hopefully. Lately for some reason, every time I showed up, Naruto would start muttering 'why, Kami-sama, why?' and suggesting that perhaps I would like to go on a mission. But I knew that it was to test my loyalty to Konoha. After all, my probation was still in place. So I said no. my musings were cut off as I was forced to dodge a chakra enhanced punch. I increased my speed. Naruto would _definitely _help. He had to. Or I was dead.

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**And** **that was the next chapter! Review please!**


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